The present invention relates generally to compressor valve plate and head assemblies and a method of fabricating same, and more particularly to such assemblies particularly adapted for use on refrigeration compressors. Although the invention is applicable to rotary and other type compressors, including single and multi-cylinder types, it is disclosed herein embodied in a multi-cylinder reciprocating piston type compressor which can be of either hermetic or accessible hermetic type.
The embodiment of the present invention disclosed herein is particularly suited for use with disc-like lightweight valves of the type disclosed in assignee's copending application, Ser. No. 971,309, filed Dec. 20, 1978, now abandoned, and the valve biasing means forming the subject matter of assignee's copending application in the name of Dale T. Chambers, entitled "Discharge Valve", Ser. No. 114,345, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,125, filed of even date. The valve plate of the present invention is an improvement over the valve plates disclosed in the aforesaid '309 application.
Valve plates and cylinder head assemblies can become relatively complex in configuration for certain valve arrangements and as a result are quite costly to manufacture and sometimes to assemble.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide improved valve plates and head assemblies for use in compressors having concentric suction and discharge valves for each pumping chamber, which assemblies are relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, which are easy to assemble, which are reliable in operation, and which can be retrofit on certain existing compressors previously utilizing different valve arrangements. A related object resides in the provision of an improved method for fabricating such assemblies.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.